Plated Devil
Anatomy
Plated devils are small lizards that grow to a length of twenty centimetres in males and thirty centimetres in females. Their transverse lines of conical scales cover their entire bodies, which are designed to funnel water into their skin through cutaneous absorption. They have flat heads with a small divot in the centre, designed to shovel mud into piles to form their towering nests.
Their colouration varies in the different regions of the Silver Desert, but they are typically a light grey colour to mimic the silver-rich sand. Darker blacks and lighter whites are also common, as a form of mutation known as melanism and albinism respectively.
Reproduction & Growth
In the wild plated lizards lay eggs once a year. They will use their shovel shaped heads to construct a large hollow tower, on average about two feet tall. These pyramidal nests are lined with plated devil eggshells, which females will produce before laying eggs in order to construct the perfect nest. These eggshells are different from fertile eggshells, and are designed to keep heat out, providing the mother with a cool environment when she is incubating her eggs.
These nests are on the more unusual side; no other lizard species on the planet builds such complex or large nests. They are easily noticeable from far away, and it is illegal to trample or destroy a plated devil nest, even if it was accidental or if it is abandoned, unless you have a permit.
Diet
Plated devils have a greatly varied diet. It consists of approximately 50% live food, which includes baby crustaceans such as eclectus crabs, small freshwater fish and invertebrates, as well as small insects and arthropods that inhabit the Silver Desert. The other part of their diet is made of vegetation and fruit, commonly tea plants. Tea plants grow worldwide in many different varieties, which have an impact on their genetics.
Habitat
Plated devils are endemic to the Silver Desert. They are diurnal and bode well in hot climates. They are known to burrow in the silver sand to hide from predators and passerbys, but typically they will spend their days sat in ponds, lakes, and other pockets of water where they will continuously soak up as much water as possible, until they become bloated and float to the surface. Their toe pads are so sticky that they can cling to lakebeds and hide amongst vegetation, and when they have absorbed enough water they let go and float to the surface.
Mutations
Mutations of plated devils are commonly seen. Due to their unusually rapid duplication of cells, mutations are far more common in plated devils than in other animals. Because of this, rare variants of plated devils are randomly bred, encouraged through feeding different foods. Cilvarthian technology is so advanced mutations can be predicted in plated devils before they are born, which results in a rather gruesome industry of breeding these animals.
Ten different mutations specific to plated devils have been identified and documented. These mutations are genetically randomised and are considered true mutations, as opposed to genetic inheritance. The most common mutation is known as balltail, with 90% of plated lizards born with it out of the ten listed mutations.
Without any dietary influence, 90% chance.
Without dietary influence, 2% chance.
Without dietary influence, 0.2% chance.
Without dietary influence, 0.03% chance.
Without dietary influence, 0.9% chance.
Without dietary influence, 2.1% chance.
Without dietary influence, 1.5% chance.
Without dietary influence, 1.6% chance.
Without dietary influence, 1.67% chance.
Without dietary influence, 0.00001% chance.
Dietary Influence
Thanks to cilvarthian technologies that are able to detect mutations while babies are in the embryo stage, probabilities of specific mutations can be altered based on the type of tea plant fed. Dietary influence only works on pre-mutated embryos, and so embryos without an embryonic mutation will not be affected by an altered diet.
An embryonic mutation is comparable to a stem cell. It is an undifferentiated mutation that has not yet differentiated. The specific mutation it grows into can be influenced through their environment and diet, diet being the most effective as it is easiest controlled.
Plated devil breeders are well versed in plated devil diets and what influences different mutations. Tea plants are the only plant to alter an embryonic mutation.
Breeding Industry
The plated devil breeding industry is larger than any other pet breeding industry on the planet. Unfortunately, many enter this industry purely for the money, as some mutations profit extremely well. The industry has taken a dark turn in recent years, with some methods of farming alerting officials, opening the public's eyes to what this industry is truly like. Many breeders are completely unethical in their farming methods, slaughtering any devil that does not produce a single mutated egg in a batch.
The breeding industry has caused much controversy in recent years, with the Pet Breeding Corporation petitioning for the banning of commercial plated devil breeding. Commercialised breeding seems to be far more unethical, with private studies taking place, their research being leaked showing horrifying images of these lizards being kept in containers a quarter of their recommended size, eggs being placed in giant furnaces if embryonic mutations aren't detected.
Captivity
Plated devils are a common pet in warmer places such as Aricos and Corykos. Plated devils are easy to look after thanks to their docile and shy natures. They require a vivarium at least 60"L x 32"H x 60"L, meaning they need lots of space to allow for a diverse enclosure of varying habitats. Their enclosure must contain a warm and dry corner, a warm and wet corner, a moderate and dry corner, and a moderate and wet corner. Most modern enclosures can control these four corners independently.
Plated devils are known to have a relatively shy personality. They don't warm up to new pet owners for a few weeks, and until then they will growl when people approach them and attempt to pick them up. Using food, you can distract a plated devil to handle it, but once it has finished eating it will begin to growl again. Growling is their first warning; their second warning is puffing up their scales, and lastly they will bite.
Species
There are four species of plated devil in the genus Eveledis. All are endemic to the Silver Desert, where they are high and steady in numbers.Scarred Plated Devil
The scarred plated devil can be found in the Manavas Region of the Silver Desert, the northernmost region bordering on the giant flower fields. These devils are more accustomed to moderate temperatures and so are the least popular plated devil to have as a pet in the Silver Desert as it costs more money to cool their enclosure down.
Scarred plated devils are characterised by small red stripes along their backs, running down from their necks to their tails. These stripes aren't noticeable from a great distance, but become strikingly visible closer up.
Crimson Plated Devil
The crimson plated devil is also found in the Manavas Region, as well as the Sicorol Region to the south. Crimson plated devils are identified by their bright red colouration. They are kept as pets with higher-class citizens, as the colour red is often associated with wealth in many Cilvarthian cultures.
Terran Plated Devil
Named after the region they are found in, terran plated devils are well adapted to life in the hottest place on the planet. Living in one of the only locations cilvarthians don't, terran plated devils spend up to fourteen hours a day completely submerged in water, only coming up to breathe once an hour as they can absorbe oxygen reliably for that long.
Terran plated devils are the only plated devil species not kept as pets. They are simply too difficult to keep as a pet, and every single time they have been kept in zoos and sanctuaries they have all died within weeks.
Common Plated Devil
Found in every single region in the Silver Desert, common plated devils are very common as their name suggests. With a population of 760,000, they take up 85% of the entire plated devil population. They are most common as pets, easy to take care of and once they've warmed up to their owners they enjoy lots of attention.
There are no laws in place to protect common plated devils themselves, unlike the other species, yet their nests are protected by law.
This article gave me emotional whiplash. I was happily picturing their nests and them being all floaty and bloaty, and then BOOM. TERRIBLE COMMERCIAL BREEDING INDUSTRY. :( I love them. Has the A to Zoo managed to keep any of the Terran ons?
DDDD: It is sad indeed. The A to Zoo definitely have some terran plated devils! They're very good at maintaining precise climates and environments for species :D